1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control panel apparatus. Particularly, the present invention relates to a control panel apparatus suitable for a meter for vehicle, whose waterproof performance is enhanced.
2. Description of Background Art
A vehicle is provided with a speedometer, an engine speed meter and the like, and these meters are mounted on the vehicle, the meters being housed in a meter box. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Official Gazette No. Hei 8-142709 describes a waterproof meter for vehicle, which is constituted in the following manner that: a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) which is disposed on a backside of a meter box, and which is for transmitting an electric signal, is covered with a lower cover (a backside cover); an intermediate connector, which has terminals for transmitting an electric signal from the vehicle to the FPC, is provided; and a flange portion of this intermediate connector overlaps the lower cover.
A mounting hole is formed in the lower cover of the meter for vehicle described in Japanese Patent Application Official Gazette Laid-open No. Hei 8-142709. The intermediate connector penetrates through the mounting hole so that the intermediate connector would be projectable to the outside. A sealing member is generally used between such a mounting hole and the lower cover, for the purpose of ensuring waterproof performance. However, favorable sealing performance cannot be expected unless the sealing member securely adheres to a sealed member. Although the clamping by a screw is usually performed for the purpose of causing the sealing member to securely adhere to the sealed member, it is not easy to obtain an adequate clamping force of the screw. However, there has not been easy conventional means, other than the one using a tool or the like having a torque limitation, by which an adequate clamping force can be judged with a sense of an individual worker.